St. Joseph ? New city law bans protests at funerals

Protesting at funerals has been banned in St. Joseph after an anti-gay group waved antimilitary signs at a soldier’s funeral here and at other military funerals across the country.

A Topeka-based church run by Fred Phelps and consisting mainly of family members has picketed several funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. The family contends American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors homosexuals.

The ordinance unanimously approved Monday by the St. Joseph City Council is similar to a proposed state measure that would bar protests at or near a funeral from an hour before a funeral service to an hour after it ends.

Republican Sen. Charlie Shields and Democratic Rep. Martin Rucker, both of St. Joseph, proposed the legislation last month after a protest during the August funeral service of Spc. Edward Myers, a St. Joseph soldier killed in Iraq.